Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is an adherence to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility in all work. Academic integrity is fundamental to the operation of all scholarship, whether it be original research or undergraduate assignments. It ensures that proper credit is given to those who do the work and that their intellectual contribution is acknowledged. It ensures that proper evaluation and feedback of performance can be given, and it buttresses the worth and reputation of academic awards on the basis they have been honestly earned. Murdoch University regards academic integrity as a fundamental value of student learning. It requires all students enrolled in the University to adhere to academic integrity in fulfilling each assessment task.
The University regards most seriously any acts of dishonesty relating to assessment of University courses and research. This includes plagiarism, unauthorised collaboration, examination misconduct, theft of other students' work and misconduct in research. Acting unfairly or dishonestly in assessment is defined as misconduct under University statute.
Depending on the seriousness of the case, dishonesty in assessment can lead to a requirement to undertake additional work, failure in a unit or in a part of it, suspension from the University or even permanent expulsion from the University. The University regards any form of cheating as a serious matter of academic dishonesty that threatens the integrity of the assessment processes and awards of the University, to the detriment of all other students and graduates of the University.
Plagiarism constitutes using the work of another without indicating by referencing (and by quotation marks when exact phrases or passages are borrowed) that the ideas expressed are not one's own. Students can use the ideas and information from other authors, but this use must be acknowledged. It is also not acceptable to submit an assignment that is simply a paraphrasing of extracts from other authors: the work submitted must include some intellectual contribution of the student's own. The Foundation units in particular assist students in identifying plagiarism, which may be an acceptable practice elsewhere, but is not acceptable within universities.
Re-submission of previously marked work — the submission of the same piece of work for assessment in two different units by the student author — is not acceptable practice if it is not acknowledged.
Unauthorised collaboration ('collusion') constitutes joint effort between students, or students and others, in preparing material submitted for assessment, except where this has been approved by the Unit Coordinator. Students are encouraged to discuss matters covered in units, but when writing an assignment, computer program, laboratory report or other piece of assessed work, the recording and treatment of data and the expression of ideas and argument must be the student's own.
Dishonesty in assessment applies to work in any medium (for example, written or audio text, film production, computer programs, etc.)
Note: The information on this page is from the:
Murdoch University. (2011). Authoritative Handbook. Perth: Murdoch University. pp. 23-24.
The Assessment Policy
Find the current version of Murdoch University’s Assessment Policy
Procedures and penalties for academic misconduct are outlined in the Student Discipline Regulations
All penalties are recorded on the student's formal record.
For information on how to avoid academic misconduct
Murdoch University Student Learning Centre can help you avoid academic misconduct. Vist them in person or check out their online resources:
